Saturday, January 29, 2011

Today I got to go see one of my paintings in a real life art exhibit! I entered a painting in an art competition called "Fulfill The Vision." The paintings are now on display (for you locals) at the Washington DC Temple Visitor's Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located in Kensington, MD. The exhibit will be there from January 29 to March 27, 2011.

One thing I like about visiting the Visitor's Center is how kind the hosts and missionaries are. They make you feel like the most important person in the world, while they're talking to you. This evening, our family was invited to a reception for the artists. They had the Visitor's Center Director say a few words to us, then there was food, like little chocolate dipped strawberries and such. Then they took a picture of all the artists.

I secretly felt like a Nerd invited to a Cool Kids Party. But it was a nice experience, and I'm really glad I got to be a part of it.

Chris took this photo of the temple when we were there this evening. It reminded him of my painting with the clouds behind it and the sun setting.

They asked us to submit a statement about our inspiration behind the paintings. This was the statement I submitted:

"When I began to paint this painting, I was thinking about self-worth. I had heard a comparison to when it is cloudy and the sun isn't visible to us at the moment. We know that if we could just ascend above the clouds, we would see the sun. The sun is still there despite what clouds may cover it. Similarly, even when we don't feel the true measure of our self worth, and we may not know how precious we are in God's sight, that worth is still there. We are precious and loved by God, even if we don't see that we are. As I started to think about this concept, I realized that the place where I see the truth the most clearly is in the temple. Additionally, the temple for all of us can be a place of refuge from all the cares of the world and so called, "storms" that go on outside the temple. And finally, the temple image symbolizes the light of the Gospel, and how the Gospel shines like a beacon in our dark and confused world."

Wow, congratulations! That is so great. I loved your statement that went along with the painting. It made the painting more meaningful. I am glad they let you write something about it to go along with it. You are awesome!

Wonderful! Great to see your painting and to be honored with it being shared at the temple. I really love the words with it too. Some of my favorite pictures of the DC temple are those with the clouds looming around...since that is how life feels most of the time.